Statistics on

Penal sanctions

The statistics include the legally enforceable penal sanctions registered during the year. The statistics include information about type of sanction, sentencing, judicial authority and type of offence, in addition to the sanctioned person’s age, sex and place of residence.

Updated: 18 June 2025

Next update: Not yet determined

Selected figures from these statistics

Table 1Penal sanctions and sanctioned persons, by type of sanction.

Penal sanctions and sanctioned persons, by type of sanction.
	2024
Penal sanctions in total	273 426
On the spot fine	216 721
Penal sanctions without on-the-spot-fines	56 705
Settled in mediation service	1 286
Waiver of prosecution without conditions	4 737
Conditional waiver of prosecution	3 142
Ticket fine	32 469
Fine	2 020
Other sanction	36
Sentences on more than a fine	13 015
Community sentence	1 478
Youth sentence	106
Conditional imprisonment	3 981
Unconditional imprisonment	7 386
Preventive detention	10
Compulsory mental health care sentence	50
Compulsory care sentence	4

Persons sanctioned in total	245 031

Persons sanctioned, on-the-spot fine not included	50 878

Persons sentenced to more than a fine	12 556

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13579

StatBank source table 10622

StatBank source table 13582

Table 2Penal sanctions by main type of sanction, since 1997.

Penal sanctions by main type of sanction, since 1997.
	Sanctions in total (from 2019)	Sanctions, selected types¹	Settled in mediation service	Waiver of prosecution without conditions	Conditional waiver of prosecution²	On the spot fine	Ticket fine	Fine	Community sentence³	Conditional imprisonment	Unconditional imprisonment	Special sanction or other type of sanction^{4 5}
1997	..	215 165	..	..	429	159 602	36 090	2 068	735	7 499	8 642	100
1998	..	218 138	..	..	319	158 105	40 656	2 347	646	7 555	8 441	69
1999	..	215 070	..	..	233	153 338	41 284	2 308	669	7 867	9 285	86
2000	..	206 367	..	..	219	142 420	45 485	1 594	649	6 880	9 062	58
2001	..	239 240	..	..	219	158 637	56 639	2 071	766	10 203	10 626	79
2002^{3 5}	..	205 988	..	..	159	139 587	46 942	2 144	750	7 296	9 041	69
2003	..	257 046	..	..	164	181 960	52 587	1 983	1 647	8 292	10 319	94
2004	..	302 041	..	..	559	225 704	55 376	1 745	2 191	6 644	9 758	64
2005	..	316 189	..	..	951	233 190	56 457	2 314	2 623	9 289	11 292	73
2006	..	346 882	..	..	772	263 659	58 603	2 508	2 804	7 751	10 711	74
2007²	..	357 149	..	..	1 426	269 398	62 917	2 730	2 722	7 442	10 445	69
2008	..	338 356	..	..	1 706	256 350	58 053	2 209	2 881	6 748	10 353	56
2009	..	312 281	..	..	1 959	234 032	55 393	2 235	2 603	6 536	9 471	52
2010	..	336 033	..	..	2 615	253 755	56 257	2 069	2 896	7 051	11 334	56
2011	..	316 901	..	..	2 716	237 586	55 525	1 985	2 521	6 161	10 341	66
2012	..	317 022	..	..	2 349	240 239	54 606	1 699	2 349	5 731	9 993	56
2013	..	309 336	..	..	3 208	228 823	55 385	1 698	2 427	6 074	11 676	45
2014⁴	..	300 711	..	..	3 303	224 884	52 868	1 545	2 155	5 334	10 555	67
2015	..	291 850	..	..	3 477	213 989	53 922	1 734	2 032	5 735	10 868	93
2016⁶	..	290 929	..	..	3 261	217 197	50 586	1 796	1 944	5 474	10 556	115
2017	..	277 175	..	..	3 675	209 609	46 199	1 649	1 873	4 832	9 216	122
2018	..	270 337	..	..	3 992	206 036	43 382	1 495	1 830	4 590	8 885	127
2020^{1 6}	299 019	292 636	1 323	4 121	7 366	232 327	37 347	1 785	1 945	4 106	8 548	151
2021	271 087	264 353	1 303	3 997	6 243	208 754	34 749	1 951	1 903	3 754	8 216	217
2022	288 660	281 349	1 257	4 628	3 723	230 650	32 804	2 248	1 611	4 298	7 231	210
2023	286 997	279 915	1 265	5 131	3 811	229 886	31 670	2 056	1 490	4 133	7 386	169
2024	273 426	266 540	1 286	4 737	3 142	216 721	32 469	2 020	1 478	3 981	7 386	206
¹The column for "Sanctions, selected" includes all sanctions except "Settled in conflict council", "Waiver of prosecution without conditions" as well as waiver of sentencing (in "Other sanction") and on-the-spot fines for maritime matters, which were first included in the statistics fom. 2019.
²The figures for conditional waivers of prosectuion are characterized by insufficient registration in older years, especially in the period before 2007. For comparison, see figures persons charged for investigated offenses, statistical bank table 09420.
³The older type of sanction community service was replaced by community sanction in 2002. The category community service also includes community service.
⁴Youth sentence was introduced as a new type of punishment in June 2014 and included in the category "Other type of reaction".
⁵The older special sanction security detention was in 2002 replaced with preventive detention, compulsory mental health care and compulsory care. Security detention in combination with unconditional imprisonment is placed in the category unconditional imprisonment, while security detention alone is placed in the category other type of sanction.
⁶The figures for penal sanctions in 2016 and 2019 have been corrected on 14 November 2024. The changes resulted in 6 more sanctions in 2016 and 25 more in 2019.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13579

StatBank source table 10622

StatBank source table 10651

Table 3Penal sanctions (on-the-spot fines not included) and criminal counts, by subtype of sanction and type of sanction

Penal sanctions (on-the-spot fines not included) and criminal counts, by subtype of sanction and type of sanction
	Total	Drug-treatment program under court control	Anti-intoxicated-driving program	Other special conditions	Restraining orders	Other loss of right	Conditional fine (without special conditions)	Youth sentence, youth supervision, or supervision in mediation service	Mediation in mediation service	No registered subtype
	2024
Penal sanctions
All types of sanctions	56 705	141	428	307	219	80	605	536	980	53 409
Settled in mediation service	1 286	:	:	:	:	:	:	313	973	:
Waiver of prosecution without conditions	4 737	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	4 737
Conditional waiver of prosecution	3 142	:	:	238	:	:	:	5	:	2 896
Ticket fine	32 469	:	:	9	:	13	600	7	:	31 838
Fine	2 020	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	2 012
Community sentence	1 478	:	:	:	8	:	:	.	.	1 465
Conditional imprisonment	3 981	105	407	45	10	:	:	94	:	3 313
Unconditional imprisonment	7 386	35	21	12	196	60	:	10	:	7 051
¬ Unconditional imprisonment only	4 253	:	:	:	158	44	:	.	.	4 051
¬ Unconditional and conditional imprisonment	510	35	21	12	30	8	:	6	:	397
¬ Unconditional imprisonment and other	2 623	:	:	:	8	8	:	:	.	2 603
Preventive detention	10	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	7
Compulsory mental health care sentence	50	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	50
Compulsory care sentence	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	:
Youth sentence	106	:	:	:	:	:	:	106	.	:
Other sanction	36	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	36

Criminal counts (average per sanction)
All types of sanctions	1.7	8.1	3.0	2.2	6.4	3.8	1.4	3.2	1.2	1.6
Settled in mediation service	1.4	:	:	:	:	:	:	2.2	1.2	:
Waiver of prosecution without conditions	1.2	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	1.2
Conditional waiver of prosecution	1.2	:	:	1.3	:	:	:	2.8	:	1.2
Ticket fine	1.3	:	:	1.2	:	1.1	1.4	3.3	:	1.3
Fine	1.4	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	1.3
Community sentence	2.7	:	:	:	5.8	:	:	.	.	2.6
Conditional imprisonment	2.2	6.7	2.7	4.4	4.0	:	:	3.2	:	1.9
Unconditional imprisonment	3.7	12.5	9.1	11.9	6.6	4.5	:	11.2	:	3.5
¬ Unconditional imprisonment only	3.6	:	:	:	6.1	4.3	:	.	.	3.5
¬ Unconditional and conditional imprisonment	6.9	12.5	9.1	11.9	7.6	4.8	:	8.5	:	6.1
¬ Unconditional imprisonment and other	3.1	:	:	:	13.1	5.1	:	:	.	3.0
Preventive detention	6.1	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	6.7
Compulsory mental health care sentence	9.7	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	9.7
Compulsory care sentence	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	:
Youth sentence	5.4	:	:	:	:	:	:	5.4	.	:
Other sanction	1.9	:	:	:	:	:	:	.	.	1.9

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13730

Table 4Penal sanctions by main type of sanction and principal offence (groups and selected types)

Penal sanctions by main type of sanction and principal offence (groups and selected types)
	All types of sanctions	Waiver of prosecution or mediation service	On the spot fine	Ticket fine	Court fine or other sanction	Community sentence or youth sentence	Conditional imprisonment	Unconditional imprisonment or special sanction
2024
All types of offences	273 426	9 165	216 721	32 469	2 056	1 584	3 981	7 450

Property theft, total	5 710	2 315	:	2 718	88	63	100	426
Petty theft	3 481	1 910	:	1 539	32	:	:	:
Theft (not aggravated)	1 782	337	:	1 124	49	32	63	177
Aggravated theft	269	:	:	26	:	24	12	195
Theft of car or other motor vehicle	147	:	:	23	:	7	25	54

Other offences for profit, total	17 835	297	14 941	1 212	58	290	230	807
Receipt of stolen property or money laundering	461	62	:	114	13	77	33	162
Fraud, total	1 347	138	:	440	20	158	130	461
Embesslement, total	269	42	:	83	:	33	35	74
Accounting offences	209	36	:	104	:	11	11	47
Customs Act	15 407	13	14 941	420	17	:	:	14

Criminal damage, total	712	266	:	340	29	19	14	44
Petty damage to property	83	47	:	34	:	:	:	:
Damage to property	555	206	:	304	27	:	8	7
Aggravated damage to property	54	:	:	:	:	16	:	21

Violence and maltreatment	5 697	1 341	:	1 474	120	507	446	1 809
Assault	2 165	768	:	948	71	70	116	192
Aggravated assault	194	:	:	:	:	39	20	102
Bodily harm	429	:	:	7	:	77	21	290
Grievous bodily harm	87	:	:	:	7	:	79
Murder	30	:	:	:	:	:	:	30
Unintentional bodily harm or manslaughter	66	:	:	:	:	21	38
Maltreatment in close relations, total	112	:	:	:	:	6	:	99
Assault of public servant	643	57	:	15	:	124	86	357
Threats, total	864	193	:	169	12	66	102	322
Robbery and extortion	287	:	:	:	:	85	27	149
Reckless behaviour and stalking	682	213	:	314	32	13	37	73

Sexual offences, total	1 018	117	:	341	17	39	58	446
Rape	52	:	:	:	:	:	:	52
Aggravated rape	:	:	:	:	:	:	:	:
Rape, child under 14 years	92	:	:	:	:	10	:	79
Aggravated rape, child under 14 years	23	:	:	:	:	:	:	22
Sexual intercourse, child 14-15 years	74	:	:	:	:	10	6	57
Sexually abusive behaviour	176	:	:	122	8	:	8	14

Drug and alcohol offences, total	10 837	2 240	:	3 127	143	307	2 287	2 733
Narcotics, use	261	:	:	81	6	:	:	:
Narcotics, minor possesion	1 391	:	:	293	12	:	:	:
Narcotics offences (not aggravated), Penal Code	2 614	842	:	907	28	191	295	351
Aggravated narcotics offences, Penal Code	539	:	:	:	:	76	87	374
Driving under the incluence	5 599	:	:	1 523	88	37	1 895	2 001

Public order and integrity violations, total	7 373	1 213	:	5 024	447	66	174	449
Breach of the peace, total	1 391	:	:	1 165	70	:	:	:
Weapong, fire and explosives legisaltion	1 957	412	:	1 286	109	19	33	98
Obstructing and counteracting public authority	2 798	362	:	1 992	226	11	49	158
Perjury and false accusation	45	:	:	5	:	7	9	21
Immigration legislation	129	:	:	70	8	:	:	42
Document and ID offences	374	57	:	171	10	10	41	80
Unaouthorised access and stay	296	135	:	102	15	6	10	28

Traffic offences, total	222 748	1 217	201 780	16 981	1 109	290	655	716
Without driving license	3 863	240	:	3 211	88	6	117	201
Speeding	196 760	302	188 223	6 550	514	280	457	434
Personal injury	1 057	102	:	840	53	:	36	22

Other offences, total	1 496	159	:	1 252	45	:	17	20
Hunting and fishing offences	340	34	:	295	8	:	:	:
Other offences against the environment	828	110	:	673	22	:	8	12

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13723

Table 5Penal sanctions, by main type of sanction, sex and age.

Penal sanctions, by main type of sanction, sex and age.
	All types of sanctions	Waiver of prosecution and mediation sercive	On the spot fine	Ticket fine	Court fine or other sanction	Community sentence or youth sentence	Conditional imprisonment	Unconditional imprisonment or special sanction
2024
Total	273 426	9 165	216 721	32 469	2 056	1 584	3 981	7 450

Both sexes	262 577	9 142	206 450	31 928	2 042	1 584	3 981	7 450
Males	199 536	7 039	152 608	26 744	1 786	1 336	3 330	6 693
Females	63 041	2 103	53 842	5 184	256	248	651	757
Unknown sex	10 271	:	10 271	:	:	:	:	:

Enterprise	578	23	:	541	14	:	:	:

All ages 15 years or older	272 833	9 142	216 706	31 928	2 042	1 584	3 981	7 450
15-17 years	4 947	2 885	246	1 357	17	196	217	29
18-20 years	15 752	722	9 604	3 778	192	292	501	663
21-24 years	18 320	662	12 508	3 397	208	228	440	877
25-29 years	23 752	789	17 354	3 596	260	199	498	1 056
30-39 years	52 977	1 626	40 898	6 582	510	336	938	2 087
40-49 years	53 773	1 178	44 410	5 437	417	191	675	1 465
50-59 years	52 563	696	46 048	4 115	281	107	451	865
60-69 years	31 705	326	28 528	2 182	114	31	203	321
70 years or older	19 044	258	17 110	1 484	43	:	58	87
Unknown age	15	:	15	:	:	:	:	:

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13724

StatBank source table 13723

Table 6Penal sanctions by type of sanction and sentencting (NOK fine, hours community sentence, days prison)

Penal sanctions by type of sanction and sentencting (NOK fine, hours community sentence, days prison)¹
	All types of sanctions	Sanctions without fine or (subsidiary) prison sentence	On the spot fine	Ticket fine	¬ Fine only	¬ Community sentence only	¬ Community sentence and fine	¬ Conditional imprisonment only	¬ Conditional imprisonment and fine	¬ Unconditional imprisonment only	¬ Unconditional and conditional imprisonment	¬ Unconditional imprisonment and other	¬ Preventive detention²	¬ Youth sentence
2024
Total³	273 426	9 255	216 721	32 469	2 020	1 353	125	1 079	2 902	4 253	510	2 623	10	106

All with fine	256 954	.	216 721	32 469	2 020	.	125	.	2 902	.	117	2 598	.	.
1-1 999 (NOK)	15 942	.	15 751	183	5	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
2 000-4 999 (NOK)	98 464	.	94 084	4 190	117	.	.	.	45	.	9	17	.	.
5 000-9 999 (NOK)	104 798	.	90 843	12 800	588	.	34	.	300	.	21	211	.	.
10 000-19 999 (NOK)	33 519	.	16 030	14 038	1 187	.	53	.	1 283	.	58	870	.	.
20 000-49 999 (NOK)	2 897	.	13	1 065	115	.	22	.	766	.	19	897	.	.
50 000 (NOK) and more	1 334	.	.	193	8	.	14	.	507	.	10	602	.	.

All with community sentence	1 508	.	.	.	.	1 353	125	.	.	.	.	30	.	.
Community sentence 1-29 hours	9	.	.	.	.	8	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Community sentence 30-59 hours	865	.	.	.	.	791	67	.	.	.	.	7	.	.
Community sentence 60-89 hours	194	.	.	.	.	172	18	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Community sentence 90-179 hours	282	.	.	.	.	243	32	.	.	.	.	7	.	.
Community sentence 180-359 hours	119	.	.	.	.	108	5	.	.	.	.	6	.	.
Community sentence 360-1079 hours	39	.	.	.	.	31	.	.	.	.	.	6	.	.

All with subsidiary imprisonment	256 401	.	216 721	30 545	1 981	1 353	125	.	2 838	.	116	2 616	.	106
Subsidiary imprisonment 1-29 days	255 018	.	216 721	30 315	1 972	493	.	.	2 827	.	114	2 571	.	.

Subsidiary imprisonment 60-89 days	221	.	.	21	.	162	27	.	.	.	.	6	.	5
Subsidiary imprisonment 3-5 months	304	.	.	12	.	231	36	.	.	.	.	8	.	17
Subsidiary imprisonment 6-11 months	160	.	.	.	.	110	5	.	.	.	.	6	.	39
Subsidiary imprisonment 1-2 years	102	.	.	.	.	48	.	.	.	.	.	10	.	41
Subsidiary imprisonment 3 years and over	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

All with conditional imprisonment	4 492	.	.	.	.	.	.	1 079	2 902	.	510	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 1-29 days	3 004	.	.	.	.	.	.	503	2 426	.	75	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 30-59 days	750	.	.	.	.	.	.	276	334	.	140	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 60-89 days	214	.	.	.	.	.	.	85	49	.	80	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 3-5 months	238	.	.	.	.	.	.	96	43	.	99	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 6-11 months	152	.	.	.	.	.	.	58	33	.	60	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 1-2 years	109	.	.	.	.	.	.	45	15	.	49	.	.	.
Conditional imprisonment 3 years and over	25	.	.	.	.	.	.	16	.	.	7	.	.	.

All with unconditional imprisonment²	7 396	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	4 253	510	2 623	10	.
Unconditional imprisonment 1-29 days	2 644	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1 094	72	1 478	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 30-59 days	1 432	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	672	113	647	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 60-89 days	617	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	410	49	158	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 3-5 months	896	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	625	109	162	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 6-11 months	763	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	542	95	126	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 1-2 years	679	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	567	68	42	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 3-4 years	188	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	177	.	7	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 5-6 years	84	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	80	.	.	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 7-8 years	33	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	31	.	.	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 9-10 years	11	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	11	.	.	.	.
Unconditional imprisonment 11 years and over	49	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	44	.	.	5	.
¹Dots in cells in this table deviate from Statistics Norway's standard symbols in tables. Here . = Confidential (figures are not published so as to avoid identifying persons or companies).
²Sentencing unconditional imprisonment includes time frame for precentive detention.
³The statistics includes sanctions against persons and enterprises. The scope of enterprises is stated in tables by sex or age.

Explanation of symbols

Source

StatBank source table 13581

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About the statistics

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 26 June 2025.

Definitions of the main concepts and variables

Penal sanction: Each individual penal sanction against one physical or legal person, made legally enforceable and registered during the statistical year. Thus, for persons with more than one sanction during a year, each sanction is counted.

Sanctions refers here only to ticket fines (including on the spot fine), transfers to mediation service, waivers of prosecution or a court sentence on fine, community sentence, juvenile sanction, prison, special sanctions, loss of right, deferment of sentencing or waiver of sentencing.

Criminal count: The individual offense for which a reaction has been imposed (corresponds to the unit charge in the statistics on investigated offenses). In the statistics only used as average per reaction. On-the-spot fines do not have information on the number of criminal counts and the average number of criminal counts for all reactions in total can therefore not be calculated.

Sanctioned person: Each individual physical person registered with at least one sanction during the statistical year. Persons with more than one sanction during a year thus appear only once, represented by the sanction for the most serious offence (see “principal offence” below). Enterprises, organizations, public agencies, and other legal persons are not included.

Sentencing: Days for subsidiary, conditional and unconditional prison, NOK for fines, and hours for community sentence.

Classification of offences

Offence is in the crime statistics defined as a violation of the law which at the time of the act was punishable. In the digital registers used a basis for the statistics on sanctions (SSP, BOT, SIRI), about 660 different codes are in use for registering offences committed today. The statistics on sanctions are following the Statistics Norway’s’ standard classification of these codes into group and/or type of principal offence.
Following the Penal Code of 2005 coming into effect on 1 October 2015, around 430 new codes were introduced into the police’ registration system for offences. These replaced the codes from the Penal Code of 1902. Consequentially, Statistics Norway now uses the new version of Standard for types of offences, Type of offence 2015, to classify both old and new codes. From the release of the year 2015 and onwards, the statistics thus contain the following breakdown of offences (see “Standard classification” below for more info):

Group of offence is a division of offences into nine main groups. These groups of offences are further divided into more specified types of offences.

Type of offence is a division of offences into about 150 unique types. Similar types of offences are grouped together to aggregated levels, where all levels are included in the nine groups of offences.

Category of offence was a classification of offences used in the statistics since the early 19th century (“justice” vs. “police cases”) up until 2014, where offences were classified as either a crime (felony) or a misdemeanor. For more information on this expired classification, see the version Types of offences 2006 in Klass and About the statistics for Sanctions 2014.

Principal offence: If a sanction includes several offences, it is registered by the offence which by law carries the highest maximum sentence. Persons registered with more than one sanction during the year, will be represented by the sanction with the principal offence which by law carries the highest maximum sentence. If several offences has the same sentencing frame, the offence committed latest is chosen.

Information about the sanctions

Type of judicial authority is the authority responsible for the final decision with legal force in a case: Prosecution authority and the court (further divided into City and district courts, Lower courts of appeal, and the Supreme court).

Type of sanction is a classification of the different penal sanctions based on the judicial authority and the content of the sanction.

The types of sanctions decided by the prosecution authority (or civil servant with delegated authority to fine) are:

Transfer to the National Mediation Service (The Criminal Procedure Act section 71a)
Waiver of prosecution (The Criminal Procedure Act section 69)
On the spot fine (only for less serious traffic- and customs offences)
Ticket fine

The five main types of sanctions decided by the court are:

Fine
Community sentence
Conditional imprisonment
Unconditional imprisonment
Special sanctions and other type of sanction

“Special sanctions and other type of sanction” includes the sub-types preventive detention, compulsory health care sentence, compulsory care sentence and “other type of sanction”. “Other type of sanction” includes loss of rights, juvenile sentence, loss of right, and sentence delay (cf. prosecution conditionally dropped), but these are not specified in the statistics.

A court can also give some of these sanctions in combination, then represented by the principal (most severe) sanction in the statistics. By combining type of sanction and sentencing (assessment of sentence given in prison days and amount of fine), these combinations can be shown in more detail.

More about the types of punishments and other penal sanctions

Settled in mediation service means the prosecuting authority has transferred the case to the National Mediation Service (The Criminal Procedure Act section 71a) and that the case has been handled by the Mediation Service (the Mediation Service Act, Chapter IV). This includes the three types of treatment: 1) mediation, 2) follow-up and 3) youth follow-up.

Waiver of prosecution without conditions, or unconditional waiver of prosecution, means that the prosecuting authority chooses not to prosecute a person even if criminal guilt is "considered proven" (Criminal Procedure Act section 69, 1st paragraph). Waiver of prosecution by section 70 of the Criminal Procedure Act is not included in this category.

Conditional waiver of prosecution means that even though guilt is proved, further sanctioning is not carried out if certain conditions are adhered to during a fixed period (Criminal Procedure Act section 69, 2nd and 3rd paragraph). Normally this means a probationary period of two years where no new offences should be committed. Further special conditions could be given, such as drug testing or follow-up program for juvenile offenders (see “subtype of sanction”).

Fine is a financial punishment. The courts issues judicial fines. The prosecuting authority can issue a ticket fine as a penal order (some times called "optional penalty writ", se section 255 in this translation of the Criminal Procedure Act from the University of Oslo). Certain civil servants within the police and customs can also issue an on-the-spot fine (fixed rate, simplified optional penalty writ). Accepting a ticket (or on-the-spot) fine have the same consequenses as a judicial fine, such as a subsidiary prison sentence being set in case the person is unable to pay. However, on-the-spot-fines are not registered in the police's sentral Reaction Register. A fine can in certain cases also be conditional, see “subtype of sanction”.

Community sentence replaced in in March 2002 the earlier community service. The sanction can consist of unpaid work that is a benefit for the community as well as other programs, mediation or treatment, etc. for up to 420 hours. A subsidiary prison sentence is also decided. Sentences to community service, that can appear in later statistical years if the offence was committed before March 2002, are classified as Community sentence.

Conditional imprisonment (suspension of execution) means that one avoids serving the given sentence if, during a fixed period, the court's conditions are adhered to. Normally this means a probationary period of two years where no new offences should be committed. Further terms could be given, such as drug testing or follow-up program for juvenile offenders (see “subtype of sanction”).

Unconditional imprisonment means that the sentence must be served, primarily in prison. In some cases, all or part of the sentence of imprisonment is considered to have been served in a previous remand prison. As a general rule, the Execution of Sentences Act allows for release on probation when two thirds of the sentence have been served, but a minimum of two months. A subsidiary prison sentence is also decided. The Prison and Probation Service can also decide whether the imprisonment is to be carried out in whole or in part outside prison (see also the statistics on prisons).

Preventive detention was introduced in January 2002 as a formal punishment for persons who are considered accountable for their acts. This sanction involves imprisonment and can be prolonged indefinitely, but only for five years at a time. A time frame is set by the court, which usually corresponds to the length of an unconditional prison sentence if that had been sentenced instead. In addition, a minimum time can be set, that corresponds to 2/3 of the time frame. In new tables for years from and including 2019, the time frame is given as days of unconditional imprisonment. However, preventive detention can be extended as long as there is a high risk of new offences and the person is considered a danger to society.

Compulsory mental health care and Compulsory care was introduced in January 2002 as new special sanctions for persons considered unaccountable for their acts. People who are considered psychotic or unconscious can be sentenced to compulsory mental health care and people considered severely mentally retarded can be sentenced to compulsory care. The sentenced person is left to the healthcare system. There is no time limit, but the person should be released if there no longer is danger of relapse.

Youth sentence was introduced in July 2014 as a new type of penal sanction for offenders under 18 years old. Youth sentence can be given by a court as an alternative to unconditional imprisonment when a juvenile has committed serious or repeated offences. The court sets a time of implementation and a subsidiary prison sentence, but the exact content of the punishment is decided by a meeting at the Meditation Service.

Other sanction

Loss of right is a form of punishment that includes both loss of right to hold a position, practice an activity, as well as ban against contacting a certain person.

Deferral of sentencing is a sanction issued by court similar to conditional imprisonment or conditional fine, but with no specifation of type of sanction if conditions are broken (cf. prosecution conditionally dropped).

Waiver of sentencing was introduced as a new penal sanction in the Penal Code of 2005 (in force in 2015) which can be imposed by a court. This means no sanction beyond confirmation of guilt (cf. waiver of prosecution without conditions). Waiver of sentencing is only included in new tables with figures back to 2019.

In cases where the older form of special sanction security detention was given without combination with unconditional prison, these are categorized under Other type of sanction.

Subtype of sanction:

In new tables with figures back to 2019 more detailed information is given on the sanction with the classification variable «subtype of sanction». The subtypes include various special conditions, loss of rights and conditional fines. Where a sanction has several subtypes, a subtype is set according to the following ranking:

Youth supervision is not a separate type of punishment but can be given as a transfer to mediation service or set as a special condition for other sanctions. In content and process, juvenile follow-up is similar to youth sentence (the Mediation Service Act, Chapter IV), but with a shorter implementation time and less intrusive measures as part of the youth plan.
Drug-treatment program under court control (ND) is a special condition that can be given with a conditional sentence. In order to be sentenced to ND, the convicted person must be considered drug-addicted and have committed a crime due to, or to finance, illegal drug-use. The court follows up the convicted person through the execution of the sentence and controls the progression in the rehabilitation.
Anti-intoxicated-driving program (PRK) is a special condition that can be given with a conditional sentence. The implementation time (deadline) at PRK is usually 10 months and the program include individual discussions every 14 days, group meetings (a total of 20-30 hours) and mapping of treatment needs.
Other special conditions are listed in sections 35-37 of the Penal Code and may include, among other things, payment of compensation, to avoid contact with specified persons, abstain for drugs or alcohol, or mediation.
Restraining orders is a loss of rights (Section 57 of the Penal Code) which may include a ban on staying certain places or visits and contact with certain persons. Such a ban can be implemented with electronic control (EK), also called reverse violence alarm (OVA).
Other loss of rights includes loss of the right to occupy a position or engage in an enterprise or activity (Section 56 of the Penal Code).
Conditional fine can be imposed as a ticket fine or a judiciary fine and will, like other conditional reactions, have a probationary period, as well as any special conditions (Section 53 of the Penal Code). Only cases without special conditions are listed as a separate subtype of reaction in the statistics, while those with special conditions are counted under the respective type of special conditions (e.g. youth supervision). With the new Penal Code of 2005, conditional fines was limited to perpetrators under 18 years of age. From June 2022, conditional fines will also be possible for persons over the age of 18 who have committed a use-related narcotic drug offense.

Information about the persons

Sex: For persons registered with valid national identity number, information about sex is taken from the National Population Register. For persons not found in this register (through national identity number or name), information about sex is taken from the relevant sanction register. However, in the register for on-the-spot-fines (SIRI) there are no information on sex.

Age: A person's age is defined as his/her age at the time of the offence (latest possible) for principal offence. If information about the time of the offence is missing, age at the time of sentence is used. For on-the-spot-fines there is only information about date of legal force (which varies from date of offence if the fine was given by a traffic enforcement camera).

Citizenship: For persons registered with valid national identity number, information about citizenship is taken from the National Population Register. For persons not found in this register (through national identity number or name), information about citizenship is taken from the relevant sanction register. However, in the register for on-the-spot-fines (SIRI) there is no information on citizenship.

Criminal record: Every sanction against a person with one or more previously registered sanctions in the Criminal Record Registry (even during the same statistical year) is classified as “previous registered in the Criminal Record Registry”. Only persons with a sentence in the Criminal Record Registry are checked for criminal record this way, thus termed “all with clarified registration in the Central Criminal Register”. The criteria for registration in this central registry are that the sanction include imprisonment, community service or a special sanction, loss of rights or postponed sentencing. Fines and prosecution conditionally dropped are only registered if the offence was a crime (felony).

Because of new rules for registration in the new sanction register, the tables on criminal record have not been continues after 2015.

Standard classifications

Group of offence (new from 2015)

Type of offence (new from 2015)

Type of sanction (new from 2019)

County (place of residence)

Citizenship and Continents

Sex

Age: By single year or by the criminal statistics standard for age groups (in the most detailed cases 15-17, 18-20, 21-24, 25-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+).

Background and purpose

The statistics on sanctions are produced to give an overview of the use of formal punishment in Norway, the frequency of different types of sanctions and the assessment of sentence for different types of offences. The statistics shall also give information on key characteristics of the persons sentenced. The statistics on sanctions is financed by the Ministry of Finance.

The statistics on sanctions has been produced in different ways since 1835 and by Statistics Norway since 1883 (from the start translated to French, from the 1950s to English). In the 1860s the statistics expanded to include sentences and ticket fines for misdemeanours. At the same time with the transition from manual to digital central Criminal Record Registry (SSP) in 1978, prosecutions dropped for misdemeanours were also included, as well as sanctions for violations of the military penal code (see historical archive and Historical Statistics 1994).

Until 1996 the statistics was based on simple, summary statements of misdemeanours, while the data on crimes contained detailed specifications. With a change in the production of the statistics in 1997, also affecting statistical criteria, individual specifications on misdemeanours were taken into use.

Along with the 1997 change, a classification of ten groups of offences were introduced in addition to the traditional classification of 40-50 types of offences. A classification of offence of profit, offences of violence, sexual offences and others was removed in 1992 because the definitions, especially for offences of violence, no longer were in accordance with the common understanding of the users.

From 2003 figures for persons sanctioned have been part of the statistics. From 2005 this statistical unit have been further developed and expanded.

This statistic published in StatBank (from October 2014) include more, and more detailed, tables, available for years back to 2002 (and for sanctioned persons back to 2005).

In 2015 a new Criminal Record Registry (SSP3.0) was taken into use at 1 October, at the same time as the new Penal Code 2005 took effect.

The new Penal Code taking effect caused Statistics Norway to make a new standard for classification of offences, with nine new “groups of offence” and 150 new “types of offence”. In addition the old legal division between crimes (felonies) and misdemeanours was discontinued. This division has been fundamental for the statistics throughout its history and causes changes in almost all of the regular tables.

From 2019 on-the-spot-fines for maritime offences are included in the statistics.

In new tables with figures back to 2019 the sanctions “Settled in mediation service” and “Waiver of prosecution without conditions” are included in the statistics. Likewise, the new penal sanction waiver of sentencing (in force with the new Penal Code in 2015) is included in the statistics under “Other sanction”

Users and applications

The main users are the media, researchers and the education sector, the Ministry of Justice and the Police, National Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) and the Office of the Public Prosecutor. Beyond this the statistics form the basis of information to other people or organizations concerning the state and development in the area of crime. The statistics on sanctions have information only about offences that has lead to a formal penal sanction and does not show the full extent of punishable acts committed within the Norwegian population or selected parts of it.

Equal treatment of users

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08 am. Prior to this, a notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of the most important Principles for Equal treatment of users in releasing statistics and analyses.

Coherence with other statistics

Statistics on sanctions is one of four annual key statistics within crime statistics. The other three are statistics on offences reported to the police (including a separate statics on victims of offences reported to the police), offences investigated,and imprisonments.

When using crime statistics, it is important to be aware that the various parts do not necessarily refer to the same population of offences or statistical units. The investigation of an offence can be completed in another year than the year it was reported. And one sanctions can be a reaction to several offences committed by the same person. The tables under sanctions are therefore not directly comparable with the tables under the other statistics.

Legal authority

The Statistics Act, sections 2-1, 2-2, and 3-2. Police Register Act, section 9.

EEA reference

Not relevant

Population

The statistics covers all sanctions with legal efficacy registered during the year. To have legal efficacy means that all possibilities for appeal is exhausted.

Of all penal sanctions listed in the Penal Act 2005, the statistics includes conditional waiver of prosecution, ticket fines (including on the spot fine) and court sentences on fine, community sentence, youth sanction, imprisonment, special sanctions, loss of right, and deferral of sentencing. This definition of the population goes back to 1978. In new tables in the Statbank with figures starting from 2019, the population is expanded to include waiver of prosecution without conditions (Criminal Procedure Act section 69), transfer to National Mediation Service (Criminal Procedure Act section 71a), and waiver of sentencing.

This means that all sanctions defined as «penalties» (punishment) in the Penal Code (section 29) are included in the statistics. Almost all «other criminal sanctions» (section 30) are also included, except confiscation sentences or confiscation tickets, as well as prosecution waivers by section 70 of the Criminal Procedure Act (additional offences that will have no or insignificant effect on the sentencing). The reason why these sanctions have been omitted has partly to do with the data quality and partly with the fact that these reactions follow a different case processing and case construction than other penal sanctions do. These reactions cannot, or only rarely, act as a separate reaction regardless of whether other reactions are imposed. Certain types of confiscation also do not require criminal conviction.

The reporting unit is the Police ICT-services (PIT, under the National Police Directorate) for SSP-data (and earlier BOT-data), and the Norwegian National Collection Agency (SI, under the directorate of Taxes) for on-the-spot-fines.

Data sources and sampling

The data on most types of sanctions (except on the spot fines) are collected from the Norwegian Central Criminal Record and Police Information System (SSP) owned by the National Police Directorate (POD). The National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) is administrative responsibility for the SSP, and is the source when Statistics Norway needs further information about certain cases.

From 1 October 2015 a new central Criminal Record Register (SSP3.0) was implemented, at the same time as the new Penal Code 2005 and a new Police Register Regulations, section 44-4 (cf. the Police Register Act, section 9) took effect, with a broadened mandate for registration. According to the old Criminal Record Act section 1, only crimes (felonies) and court issued sanctions (except for fines for misdemeanors). In the new Criminal Record Register all sanctions except for on-the-spot-fines are registered.

For prosecutions conditionally dropped, ticket fines and fines by sentence given for a misdemeanor committed before 1.10.2015 data were collected from the Central Register for Fines (BOT), also owned by POD. Since 2019 BOT has been completely taken out as a data source for the statistics on penal sanctions.
Data for on-the-spot fines are collected from the SIAN-register (SIRI prior to 2019) administered by the Norwegian National Collection Agency (SI), under the Directorate of Taxes (SKE).

The handling of the data for statistical purposes also draws upon information gathered from the SSB’s population register, BeReg (a copy of the National Population Register), population statistics published by the SSB and previous years of the statistics on sanctions.

The statistics is not based on samples, but on the registration of all sanctions each year, see Population.

Collection of data, editing and estimations

The data are obtained electronically from the registers after the end of the statistical year. The statistics on Sanctions is normally produced during the first half-year succeeding the statistical year. Information on erroneous registrations and insufficient data are obtained from the National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) and the Norwegian National Collection Agency (SI) during the 1st and 2nd quarter.

Until 1 October 2015, prosecution conditionally dropped, ticket fines or sentences to fine for misdemeanour were not registered in the sanction register (SSP), and information from the fine register (BOT) were therefore used for these cases. As of 1 October 2015, such sanctions will also be registered in the new sanction register, with the exception where the misdemeanour has been committed before 1 October 2015 and will thus be punished and registered in accordance with the old law and regulations. In cases where a case is registered in both registers, only the one from the reaction register is included in the statistical material. For the 2019-statistics BOT taken out as a source in its entirety.

Quality controls aimed at identifying errors and supplying missing information is carried out regularly. Corrections are made in cooperation with the responsible authority.

The statistics on Sanctions are calculated by adding up the number of sanctions with the prevailing variables, e.g. the number of sanctions, by sex, age and principal offence. Per 1 000 population (over the criminal responsibility age – 15 years from 1990 and onwards; 14 years prior to 1990) is calculated from population figures from January 1st after the statistical year.

For an overview (in Norwegian) of data controls and Statistics Norway’s data handling routines see “Documentation”.

Seasonal adjustment

Not relevant

Confidentiality

The statistics on Sanctions contains personal data and information on criminal offences which are considered to be sensitive and potentially to the great detriment of the person if they are disclosed. Thus, Statistics Norway manages this data with great caution.

To minimise risks of disclosure the statistics are published with figures at a relatively high aggregation level, for example mainly figures for the whole of the country. When grouping these figures on lower levels (e.g. county of residence), the crossing variables are at a higher aggregation level – e.g. group of offence and age group, as opposed to the more detailed variables on type of offence and one-year age intervals.

In tables with distribution by citizenship, all values for country codes with a total population of less than 100 punished persons within a year group are omitted.

In new tables with figures from 2019 onwards, values are hidden (also called "suppression" or "dotting") in cells with a value lower than 5, by being replaced by dots (mainly : and in some cases . ). In tables with average values, values calculated from numbers (N) lower than 5 are similarly hidden.

Comparability over time and space

For years prior to 1978 see “Background and purpose”. When using historical time series it is of importance to take into account the changes in criminal legislation and the courts’ practice. Some of these changes are described in the annual publications as well as documentation memos (see older archives).

1997

From the 1997 statistics the statistical unit have been changed from sanction with legal efficacy to sanction registered. While this assures that all sanctions are included in the statistics, changes in the speed of registration can affect the amount of cases in the statistics from one year to another. Delayed registrations that are being caught up with in the following year may cause changes in the statistics that do not represent any genuine changes in the number of sanctions made enforceable. This has been especially visible in the statistics for 2000-2002, in 2007 and 2015.

This statistic published in StatBank (published October 2014) include more, and more detailed, tables with type of sanction, type of offence, age, sex and type of judicial authority. Additionally, there are more figures on sanctions by whether or not they are formerly registered in the Central Criminal Register. These more detailed tables are only published in the StatBank back to 1997 (first statistics on sanctioned person from 2005).

2005

From 2005 the statistical unit “sanctioned person” has been further developed and expanded. The unit is different from former publications (table 46 in 2003 and 2004) regarding persons without a valid Norwegian personal identification number, which now is identified by name. This new identification method of sanctioned persons results in somewhat fewer sanctioned persons.

2007

There are uncertainties related to the number of prosecutions conditionally dropped that have been delivered in the source material from the police for previous years. Comparisons with statistics on persons charged indicate that there has been a significant number of missing units of prosecutions conditionally dropped in the statistical years before 2007 and especially around 2002. Since 2013 special quality assurance has been done on these cases.

2012

The police have made significant changes in the method of registration into the Central registry for fines (BOT), which among other things renders possible more detailed information than before. The data Statistics Norway gathers from this registry, as one of three data basis for the statistics on Sanctions, are therefore changed and expanded from 2012 and onwards. This has caused changes in Statistics Norway’s handling of the data, as well as improvements in the scope, coverage and quality of the statistics.

2015/2016

The shift to a new sanction register (SSP3.0) 1 October 2015 resulted in a significant change in how fast cases get registered inn. The new registration praxis means that information about the sanctions, especially the legally enforceable sentences in large criminal cases, are handled more directly from STRASAK (the police’s central criminal case register) to SSP3.0 by police and prosecution. It is probable that the new registration praxis increased the 2015 statistics somewhat.

Principal offence: In the data extracted from the former version of the reaction register (SSP2.0), the determination of principal offence was made by the police and the prosecuting authority. Information about other offences in the case was not recorded in a sufficiently structured manner for Statistics Norway to use for statistical purposes. With the new register, Statistics Norway receives the same information about all offences in the case, and can thus determine the principal offence as the offence with the highest maximum sentence. This change in determination of principal offence causes some differences as of the 2016 figures.

2016

Citizenship: From the statistical year 2016, the information on citizenship is more complete than earlier years. Information about citizenship is now held in the statistics for persons registered with only a temporary ID-number (D-number) in the population register who have been issued with an on-the-spot-fine for traffic or custom offence. This means fewer sanctioned persons will be registered with unknown citizenship in the statistics. However, comparisons with earlier years will also be more difficult when it comes to sanctioned persons in total and for the sub categories of other offences for profit or traffic offences. The change mainly affects the numbers for (non-Norwegian) European citizens. The number of sanctioned persons for this group in total was 18 per cent higher in 2016 than it would have been without information about citizenship for the D-number population (47 percent higher for other offences for profit and 17 per cent higher for traffic offences).

2019

For the statistical year 2019, on-the-spot fines for maritime offences were included in the statistics for the first time (see Forskrift om forenklet forelegg i fritids- og småbåtsaker, cf. Lov om fritids- og småbåter (småbåtloven) § 42), allthough on-the-spot-fines for such offences have existed since 2001. These cases thus constitute a minor breach of the statistics both in 2019 and around 2002 (as seen in the decrease in the number of fines imposed for maritime offenses this year). The 1,346 simplified fines for maritime conditions in 2019 constitute a relatively small breach in relation to 2002-2018 (but not earlier) in the number of punitive reactions and punished persons in total, as well as for all groupings of simplified fines and traffic violations. The violation can be identified in tables that show the type of reaction divided into the main type of offense, ie for simplified fines given for violation of «Other transport and traffic legislation», see e.g. StatBank table 10622.

In principle, on-the-spot fines for road traffic violations on Svalbard are also included for the first time in 2019 (cf. Regulations on the Road Traffic Act with the validity of regulations on Svalbard). However, such on-the-spot fines for Svalbard are rare, and none in 2019.

For 2019, contact bans (Penal Code 2005 § 58) are also included in the data as a type of loss of rights (Penal Code 2005 chapter 10). However, it is very rare that any loss of rights is given as a reaction alone and there are no such cases in 2019.

In 2019-statistics, data from the BOT register have been completely removed as a basis for the statistics. Since the new Penal Code came into force on 1 October 2015, all reactions that were previously only registered in the BOT register are now also registered in the Reaction Register. Since cases committed before the law came into force must still be registered according to old practice, there has been a backlog of older misdemeanour cases that have been necessary to retrieve from the BOT register. In 2019-data, however, the lag is so small that it is probably less than the errors that used to occurred due to partially overlapping extracts from two registers (in the form of duplicates and duplicate deletions): based on 2019 raw data from BOT where cases are registered as misdemeanours committed before 1.10.2015 (including breaches of the Courts Act, lack of tax deduction, driving and rest time) there would have been an estimated 25 more reactions that would have been included in the final statistics if BOT data had been included in this year. This does not constitute a significant change in the statistics. Due to the limitation periods in the Penal Code, it is also very unlikely that there will be a significant number of such older misdemeanour cases with fines as a reaction in future years, if any at all.

In new tables with figures from and including 2019, the reaction types "Settled in mediation service" and "Waiver of prosecution without conditions" are also included in the statistics. In addition, the new type of penal sanction “waiver of sentencing” (in force with the Penal Code in 2015) is included in «Other sanction». Figures for old and new tables are not fully comparable unless "Settled in mediation service " and " Waiver of prosecution without conditions " are excluded (waiver of sentencing is of so few cases that they are not of significant importance in this relation).

2020

From 1 January 2020, there have been major changes in the division of counties and municipalities, due to regional reform. The changes are described in this article (only in Norwegian). See standard for Classification of county, and Classification of municipalities .

Sources of error and uncertainty

Statistics Norway (SSB) has no possibility to control for missing units caused by lack of registration in the various registers. Partial lack of data on certain units does occur, especially for on the spot fines (from SIAN, earlier SIRI) against foreign nationals, where date of birth, living address and gender not necessarily are registered. Citizenship is never registered in SIAN.

When it is determined what constitutes the principal offence, only the general penal provisions of the law are considered. On rare occasions this method may result in a sanction for an offence that does not carry the highest maximum sentence. In the older Criminal Record Register (SSP2.0) the principal offence was already selected and registered before SSB got the data. Kripos made in their registration of principal offence a judgment of the offence’s seriousness from the sentencing framework, similarly to how SSB applies the principal offence. However, SSB does not have good enough insight into exactly how the Kripos’ judgment is done in all cases. Thus it cannot be ruled out that the praxis differs somewhat. With data from the new Sanction Register (SSP3.0) from 1 October 2015, SSB applies the principal offence in all cases.

Persons with and without a valid personal identity number in the population register are identified and given information based on different criteria. When identified by using date of birth and name, instead of identity number, it is a higher risk of identifying one actual person as two different persons, because of typing errors and different use of names. Of all sanctions (excluding on the spot fines) given to physical persons in 2002, about 5 per cent were given to a person without a valid identity number. In 2014 this share had increased to 12 per cent. Because of double citizenships, amongst other things, there is a certain discrepancy between the citizenship registered by the police, and the citizenship registered in the population register that cannot be explained by erroneous registrations. The population register prioritizes Norwegian citizenship.

Some types of sanctions are not specified in the tables but grouped with related sanction types. For instance, unconditional imprisonment combined with a fine is counted as unconditional imprisonment.

Revision

Not relevant